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New York students will no longer be required to pass Regents exams to graduate starting in the 2027-2028 school year, according to a proposed timeline state officials unveiled Monday.

This means current ninth graders may not need to pass the exams to graduate – although students will continue to take them – a change that will have significant implications for teaching and learning in New York.

National education officials were rethinking what it takes to get a high school diploma in recent years, outlines a new “graduate portrait” that reflects seven areas in which students must demonstrate competence. Students should have new ways to demonstrate mastery of these areas, including internships, capstone projects, and community service.

A big part of the overhaul involves reducing the role of Regents exams — standardized tests in English, math, science and social studies — that high school students typically must pass to graduate. New York is one of a growing number of states using such exams. Research suggests they do little to promote student success or increase their earning potential and can lead to higher dropout rates.

Many educators and advocates have welcomed the state’s plans to reduce the influence of the Regents exams, arguing that they do not adequately assess students’ skills or knowledge, force teachers to focus on memorization and present unnecessary barriers to students with disabilities and English learners.

Still others worry that making exams optional will increase the risk that some students, particularly those with greater needs, will be steered onto less rigorous pathways with lower expectations.

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa acknowledged during Monday’s Board of Regents meeting that the changes would likely be controversial.

“We’re going to have instances where we respectfully agree to disagree,” she said. Still, “we are very excited to move forward to ensure that our schools are truly preparing our students for the best.” »

Civil servants outlined a timeline Monday for overhauling graduation standards, a process they say will take at least five more years. Although plans are subject to approval by the Board of Regents, here are some of the key dates students, educators and parents should keep in mind.

Later this school year: The “portrait of a graduate” emerges

To graduate from high school under the new standards, New York students will need to demonstrate mastery in seven key areas: critical thinking, effective communication, cultural and socio-emotional skills, innovative problem solving, literacy in all content areas and “global player” status. citizen.”

Officials are still defining each of these areas and translating them into explicit credit requirements that students must meet. These definitions are expected to be released during this school year, although full details of the new credit requirements will not be revealed until the 2025-2026 school year.

In a change aimed at students taking Regents exams later this school year, state officials are proposing exemptions for students experiencing “major life events,” a commission recommendation blue ribbon that helped shape the new graduation measures. (Details on how students qualify are still being worked out.)

Officials said the next year will be primarily about assimilating and refining the new graduation standards.

“It’s a year of: Consume it, then start thinking about it,” Rosa said.

Fall 2026: New courses on financial literacy and climate education

Schools across the state will face new mandates to teach students about financial literacy and climate change. However, that content will not be part of the new graduation requirements, according to Santosha Oliver, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Education’s Office of Standards and Instruction.

“While additional information is forthcoming, we plan to articulate general topics for required instruction with flexibility in implementation,” Oliver said.

Fall 2027: Regents exams no longer required – and big changes are starting to unfold

Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, students will no longer be required to pass the Regents exams to graduate from high school. Due to federal rules, students will continue to take Regents exams in math, English and science, but they will not be required to earn a passing score to graduate. (Officials said they were still considering whether to require a social studies test, which is not required by federal law.)

Ninth graders who begin high school in fall 2027 will be the first cohort required to meet the state’s revised credit requirements, although officials have not yet defined them. At the same time, the state will move towards a single diploma offering the possibility of obtaining special seals and endorsements, such as for civics, literacy or excellence on the Regents exams.

Schools are also expected to begin offering new graduation pathways in the 2027-28 school year, which may include capstone projects, community service, work-based learning experiences and much more, state officials said.

Fall 2029: All Systems Work

Officials expect that for students entering high school in the 2029-30 school year, the new graduation measures will be fully phased in — about a decade after the state has begun the final process of reviewing graduation standards.

This means students will need to meet new state credit requirements and demonstrate proficiency in the seven areas outlined in the “Portrait of a Graduate” with a range of new methods to demonstrate proficiency in these areas.

Still, state officials stressed that timelines are subject to change, as the Department of Education continues to engage communities and gather feedback.

“None of this is going to be done in isolation, with just the department behind closed doors,” Angelique Johnson-Dingle, deputy commissioner of P-12 instructional support, told Chalkbeat. “Although we painted very clear dates…we know that life happens sometimes.”

In progress: many questions remain

Several members of the Board of Regents have raised questions about how the changes will reshape education, whether schools will have the resources they need to comply with the new requirements and whether the changes could result in very different types of education for different students, raising issues of equity. .

Regent Patrick Mannion, of Onondaga and who represents several other upstate counties, noted that while career and technical education has grown in popularity, districts may not be able to quickly create enough internships or project-based learning opportunities for students who might want them, even as they can count toward the state’s revamped graduation requirements.

“I don’t think I would be willing to do this on a scale that is frankly unimaginable to most of us,” Mannion said.

Even advocates of reducing Regents exam weight have warned that alternative models may be difficult to implement. State officials have has long granted exemptions from most Regents exams in 38 schools across the state, all but two of which are in New York, with educators offering project-based assessments in their place. Some proponents caution that the model requires careful planning and buy-in from educators who believe in the approach.

Nassau County Regent Roger Tilles questioned how teachers might adapt to a new set of expectations for what students should learn. “It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “We won’t be able to achieve this without teaching civics and information literacy in the lower grades.”

Others question whether there is sufficient funding for the rollout.

The state Department of Education plans to spend approximately $11.5 million on staffing and other supports within the department over the next five years to develop and roll out the new graduation measures . And officials acknowledged that local districts and schools may need more funding in their budgets to adapt to the new requirements.

“There’s no way we can do this kind of work without adding additional funds that we have to advocate for,” Rosa said.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering New York public schools. Contact Alex at [email protected].